Liu Wusuan is the director of the foundation's finance department. He is in charge of all money-related matters in the foundation. The school construction project is affiliated with the foundation, so the accounts here are also done by him and his team.
Today is the day when the workers will be paid their final wages after the project is completed, so he, the head of the finance department, came to take charge.
Liu Wusuan opened the account book that recorded the workers' salary expenditures separately. This had been done before today.
The worker at the front of the line announced his work number: "I'm No. 48, Li Changgen."
Liu Wusuan compared the account books. "Number 48, Li Changgen, carpenter, has no absences, lateness, or early departures this month. He should receive 1,200 wen in wages, a 100 wen bonus for perfect attendance, and a 300 wen year-end bonus, for a total of 1,600 wen."
Li Changgen knew the amount of money he was supposed to get for the first two items, but the bonus was a pleasant surprise. "Mr. Liu, what's going on with this bonus?"
Chen Tian said from the side: "It's the end of the year now, the bonus is the red envelope our girls give to everyone. I hope everyone can have a good new year."
When these words were spoken, everyone was surprised and happy, and thanked Xue Huan one after another.
Xue Huan smiled and said, "I also want to thank everyone. The school was built in such a short time, and it's so well built. This is inseparable from everyone's efforts. In addition to the red envelopes, everyone can also receive a piece of meat and a bag of cakes. It's not a lot, but it's my token of my appreciation. The cafeteria will also prepare a hearty lunch later, so everyone can eat to their heart's content before going home."
No one knew what to say. They were tongue-tied and couldn't come up with anything nice to say. They could only keep saying thank you.
I don't know who started applauding, but others reacted and joined in. For a moment, the place was filled with thunderous applause.
The workers received money, pork, and pastries, and they were all very happy. Although it was winter, they felt warm in their hearts.
With this money and gifts, we can have a prosperous New Year this time.
Over in the cafeteria, the chef had already started cooking. The aroma of oil and meat wafted over, making the workers so greedy that they couldn't help but sniff.
On weekdays, they ate quite well, at least every two days they could eat meat, and it was always enough to keep them full. But the host had just said that this meal would be extra sumptuous. I wonder how many meat dishes there would be? Just thinking about it made them excited and looking forward to it.
Braised pork, fried chicken, boiled fish, steamed pork with rice flour, fried chicken fillet, stewed mutton with carrots... The chef of this meal was specially invited, Chef Xiao from Shanhai Hotpot Restaurant. He came here for Xue Huan's sake, and all the dishes were prepared according to the menu she prepared.
And the quantity is definitely enough, and it is served in bowls.
The workers can start eating immediately after receiving their wages.
The workers were stunned when they saw the pots of meat and vegetables. They only knew that this meal would be sumptuous, but to be so sumptuous still felt unreal.
They had never even seen some of these dishes, let alone eaten them.
At this moment, they all wished they could work for Xue Huan for the rest of their lives.
Although everyone was shocked, no one delayed and everyone quickly took their own bowls and chopsticks to get their food.
The person in charge of serving the food stopped shaking the spoon and simply scooped up a full spoonful and put it into the worker's bowl.
At a table in the corner, Xue Huan and Old Man Zhou Aozhou sat opposite each other.
Xue Huan had eaten before going out, so she wasn't hungry at the moment. However, everyone around her was eating with relish, which aroused her appetite. She made a bowl of carrot and mutton soup and drank it slowly.
The mutton is stewed until tender, the carrots are soft, and the soup is hot and spicy. One sip of it will warm your whole body.
Across from him, Zhou Ao was eating steamed buns soaked in carrot soup, and his beard was covered in the soup.
After working on the construction site for several months, he looked several years younger than before, full of energy and with a light in his eyes.
Xue Huan waited until he had almost finished eating before speaking, "Mr. Zhou, the school is now built, and it's so well built. You are a great contributor. Come, I'll offer you a glass of tea instead of wine."
She picked up the tea bowl and gestured towards him.
Zhou Ao was feeling a little thirsty after eating, so he picked up the tea bowl, clinked it with hers, and drank half of it in one gulp.
"Mr. Zhou, what are your plans next?"
"What plans do I have? Now that the school is built, I'll naturally go back to town and run my little grocery store."
"Anyone can run a grocery store, but there aren't many architectural masters like you in this world. If you go back and continue to stay in a small grocery store, wouldn't that be a waste of your talent? Don't you think about passing it on?"
Zhou Ao glanced at her and said, "What exactly do you want to say? No need to beat around the bush."
Xue Huan smiled and said, "Then I'll be frank. I'd like you to stay and become a teacher at our school."
"Teacher? You want me to teach and educate people?" Zhou Ao shook his head hurriedly. "I can't do that. I'm just a craftsman. How can I do that?"
Xue Huan: "Please listen to me and I will tell you slowly. I told you before this school was built that it was specifically for teaching orphans. The purpose was not for anything else, but to enable them to master a craft and support themselves, rather than teaching students the Four Books and Five Classics like other academies and letting them take the imperial examinations.
"Of course, if I discover a promising student in the future who is capable of pursuing the imperial examination, I will naturally support him. However, this school mainly teaches students skills that can help them make a living, such as accounting, cooking, needlework, and carpentry."
Zhou Ao slowed down his eating, obviously taking her words to heart.
Xue Huan continued, "I plan to start school after the Lantern Festival, so you can think about it during this time. I'm always looking forward to your visit. By the way, I'm planning to hold an annual meeting tonight. The foundation and Zhao Ji's employees will be attending. There will also be a raffle at the banquet, so please don't miss it."
At five o'clock in the afternoon, about forty people from the foundation and Zhao's family gathered at Zhao's house.
The banquet was held in the form of a buffet. In the hall, long tables covered with snow-white tablecloths were filled with food, including hot pot, barbecue, cakes, fruits, drinks... There was so much variety that it was hard to see it all.
If any of the food was finished, the maid standing in the corner would immediately replace the empty plate and go to the kitchen to bring new food.
People gathered in groups of three or four, holding their plates and chatting happily.
Ye Diao's family was also invited.
When others entered the hall, the first thing they saw was the delicious food, but Ye Diao was very interested in this self-service dining mode. As soon as Xue Huan came in, he pulled her aside to talk.
Qin couldn't help but glare at her husband, then smiled at Xue Huan and said, "I think he's obsessed with money, and only thinks about business."
Xue Huan agreed, "That's right. I invited everyone here today to eat, drink, relax and have fun. Brother Ye, please put business matters aside for a while. Let's not talk about that today. Let's just eat, drink and have fun."
Being squeezed by the two women together, Ye Diao couldn't help but give in. "Okay, okay, let's not talk about business today."
He took a tray, walked to the table and chose what he wanted to eat.
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